KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Masterful pitching performances from Sarah Abramson and Mckenzie Staub, along with two key home runs, helped Oregon Tech keep their Cascade Conference title hopes alive, sweeping a doubleheader from Bushnell University at Stilwell Stadium.
 
The Lady Owls (41-10, 24-5 CCC) took a one-game lead on idle Eastern Oregon heading into tomorrow's regular-season finale. Tech can clinch a share of the title with a win, needing an EOU loss at Carroll to secure the outright crown and host bid for next week's CCC Championships.
 
Abramson was the story in Game 1, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first – finishing with a 3-hit shutout – her ninth of the season. The right-hander struck out 10 batters and did not allow a runner to third base after the first inning.
 
OIT got their lone run in the second, as Jayce Seavert hit her team-leading 12th home run of the year – more than enough for Abramson, who won her 23rd game of 2022.
 
The Beacons (15-31, 11-18) Sam Silver was the tough-luck loser, holding the Owls to just five hits.
 
Staub followed suit in Game 2, holding BU to just two hits and striking out six – but watched as the Tech lineup broke through with a pair of big innings.
 
The Lady Owls took a 1-0 lead in the second, as Seavert singled and scored on a double to the gap from Staub. An inning later, McKenna Armantrout dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt to plate Aubrie Businger from third and Zoe Allen sprinted in on a Beacons error.  Following a walk, Kennedy Jantzi ripped an opposite field 3-run homer, her tenth of the season, to give Tech a 6-0 lead.
 
BU got on the board in the fourth, as Anabel Mendez singled home a run, but OIT put it away in the fourth – as Kaila Mick tripled home a pair and Seavert added an RBI double.
 
Both Allen and Seavert had two hits in the victory for the Lady Owls.
 
"I am always proud of this team and how they continue to battle through adversity," said OIT head coach Greg Stewart. "Sarah and Mckenzie pitched great today and it was nice to see us make adjustments at the plate in Game 2."
 
The two teams close out the regular-season tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. It marks the final home regular-season games for four OIT seniors – Abramson, Armantrout, Businger and Jantzi, who will be honored in a ceremony between games.